Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital - one of the hospitals adopting the new smoke-free policy. Image courtesy of UCLAhealth.org

SANTA MONICA—Thursday, November 17 marks the day that the UCLA Health System and UCLA Health Sciences enforce a completely smoke-free policy. This new rule will apply to all outdoor and indoor areas of the hospitals and health sciences campuses in Westwood and Santa Monica, and the buildings in the Charles E. Young Drive South research corridor.

Dr. David Feinberg, CEO of the health system and associate vice chancellor for health sciences, said the following in a news release: “Our purpose is to heal humankind one patient at a time by improving health, alleviating suffering and delivering acts of kindness. Establishing a smoke-free environment within the UCLA Health System is an extension of that philosophy. As a renowned research, education and health care–delivery institution, we must lead by example to protect the health and well-being of our faculty, staff, students, trainees, volunteers, patients and their families and to prevent disease.”

Dr. Timothy Fong, associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA, added to the press release, “Nearly 500,000 Americans die each year from tobacco-related causes, and in California, nearly 10 percent of the population smokes. Among health care providers, we know that 5 to 10 percent of physicians and nurses smoke. Thus, the move toward a smoke-free environment is the right thing to do to create a healthier and cleaner place for UCLA patients and employees to work, live and heal.”

A new "no smoking" sign outside the new building of the Santa Monica UCLA Hospital.

Fong is also a member of UCLA’s Smoke-Free Champions, a group helping and educating families, patients, and even staff members on how to transition from a smoking to non-smoking environment.  

More information on the smoke-free policy, including maps of the affected locations, can be found at www.uclahealth.org/smokefree.

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